IN OUR OPINION

Editorial: A win-win-win

Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 8:09 p.m.

To hear Marion County commissioners tell it, our community is in the midst of a new housing boom. Home sales and prices are up. Banks are eager to lend, and prospective buyers are eager to borrow. New home permits are being issued after years of little or no activity.

The housing market is indeed seeing an uptick, but it is a long way from having recovered, as some commissioners are suggesting.

Thousands of foreclosures are still on the books — nearly 1,700 just since October — with more being filed daily. Thousands of construction workers are out of work or, at best, underemployed. Low- and moderate-income residents still struggle to afford homes on their own. The unemployment rate just reached single digits to stay in September after four years of double-digit joblessness. And new housing sales are but a shadow of what they were at the height of the boom 2004-06.

So it is inexplicable that the Marion County Commission appears poised to make our community the first in the nation — from among 270 participating communities — to withdraw from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Conceived during the Bush administration, the NSP is aimed at eliminating neighborhood blight, crime and devaluation by helping rehabilitate foreclosed residences in targeted communities for resale to lower-income families, those making 120 percent of the local median income — $54,960 here. In the process, NSP provides new construction jobs and building materials sales. It is a win-win-win.

HUD gave Marion County $4.6 million in March 2011 and gave it two years to spend half of it and three years to spend all of it. The two-year deadline passed last month, but Marion County had spent only $1.1 million, rehabilitating and selling nearly 70 homes.

The underperformance raised eyebrows at HUD, which asked for an explanation. The county responded that its target areas were too limited, and HUD agreed to expand them.

The NSP program has been further restricted by the County Commission’s insistence that no house be allowed to sit vacant while its contractors look for a buyer, even though HUD allows NSP funds to be used for upkeep during the sales process.

Both of the outfits that are rehabilitating the NSP properties, Fabian Dinkins Construction and Habitat for Humanity, praise the program and say there is a demand for the houses they are fixing up and for the jobs the program is providing. Moreover, the county’s own community services director, Cheryl Amey, who oversees the NSP for the commission, told the Star-Banner this week that the large number of foreclosures in our community presents opportunities for the NSP to continue having its intended effect: to rehabilitate homes and neighborhoods, provide needed construction jobs and create a pathway to home ownership for lower-income families.

The commission should not cancel this worthwhile program. Uncle Sam has given it millions to uplift its community and some of its constituents hardest hit by the recession. Commissioners should seize the moment and the federal dollars, manage the money effectively and make NSP work toward the betterment of Marion County.

<p>To hear Marion County commissioners tell it, our community is in the midst of a new housing boom. Home sales and prices are up. Banks are eager to lend, and prospective buyers are eager to borrow. New home permits are being issued after years of little or no activity.</p><p>The housing market is indeed seeing an uptick, but it is a long way from having recovered, as some commissioners are suggesting.</p><p>Thousands of foreclosures are still on the books — nearly 1,700 just since October — with more being filed daily. Thousands of construction workers are out of work or, at best, underemployed. Low- and moderate-income residents still struggle to afford homes on their own. The unemployment rate just reached single digits to stay in September after four years of double-digit joblessness. And new housing sales are but a shadow of what they were at the height of the boom 2004-06.</p><p>So it is inexplicable that the Marion County Commission appears poised to make our community the first in the nation — from among 270 participating communities — to withdraw from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Conceived during the Bush administration, the NSP is aimed at eliminating neighborhood blight, crime and devaluation by helping rehabilitate foreclosed residences in targeted communities for resale to lower-income families, those making 120 percent of the local median income — $54,960 here. In the process, NSP provides new construction jobs and building materials sales. It is a win-win-win.</p><p>HUD gave Marion County $4.6 million in March 2011 and gave it two years to spend half of it and three years to spend all of it. The two-year deadline passed last month, but Marion County had spent only $1.1 million, rehabilitating and selling nearly 70 homes.</p><p>The underperformance raised eyebrows at HUD, which asked for an explanation. The county responded that its target areas were too limited, and HUD agreed to expand them.</p><p>The NSP program has been further restricted by the County Commission's insistence that no house be allowed to sit vacant while its contractors look for a buyer, even though HUD allows NSP funds to be used for upkeep during the sales process.</p><p>Both of the outfits that are rehabilitating the NSP properties, Fabian Dinkins Construction and Habitat for Humanity, praise the program and say there is a demand for the houses they are fixing up and for the jobs the program is providing. Moreover, the county's own community services director, Cheryl Amey, who oversees the NSP for the commission, told the Star-Banner this week that the large number of foreclosures in our community presents opportunities for the NSP to continue having its intended effect: to rehabilitate homes and neighborhoods, provide needed construction jobs and create a pathway to home ownership for lower-income families.</p><p>The commission should not cancel this worthwhile program. Uncle Sam has given it millions to uplift its community and some of its constituents hardest hit by the recession. Commissioners should seize the moment and the federal dollars, manage the money effectively and make NSP work toward the betterment of Marion County.</p>